Thursday, May 21, 2009

Farmers Market in Columbia

The peas are absolutely delicious at the Sunday farmers market in Columbia, but I'm always over eager for the taste of summer.

Howard County's three farmers markets have opened for 2009, and they remain a wonderful way to buy really fresh vegetables, breads, milk, plants, and more. The weekend markets are also just a great way to start a day -- browse for food, devour a chocolate croissant.

On Sunday, the market in the Oakland Mills Village Center was pretty empty because of the cold. There were four farmers and two bakeries. More than enough for me to fill two bags and help create a terrific dinner. The star was Penn Farm from Colonial Beach, Virginia,which showed up withh peas, onions, greens, purple kolrabi, and other early-season specials. The peas were spectacular. I shelled them and dropped them in boiling water for a minute, then warmed them later with a pad of butter and chopped mint.

Right now, Treadelphia Lake View Farm is selling herbs and vegetable plants. They looked hardy if you're still planting your garden. I bought two basils to replace some plants mangled by last week's wind. I had already filled my last vegetable garden slots at River Hill Garden Center, or I would have bought tomatoes from another farmer (whose name I didn't write down). For $8.50, he had two-foot tall plants already starting to fruit. Great fun to harvest your own tomatoes so early in the year.

For the 2009 season, the new draw on a Sunday morning will be bread. Savage's Bonaparte Bread has been a farmer's market regular, selling baguettes, croissants and other goodies. This year, Atwater's bakery from Belvedere Square has also set up shop. I bought a delicious rosemary loaf from the Atwater's table. Perfect crust. Light white bread inside. Light rosemary touch. A great bread to bring home for dinner. (The Bonaparte chocolate croissant, I ate in the car.)

But respect the seasons. I was entranced by a package of small tomatoes. They were real tomatoes, greenhouse grown and beautiful in their irregular, natural shape. They looked like summer. But really, they tasted like tomatoes in the middle of May. Fine, but not the produce that nature intended from a Maryland farm at this time of year. I'm sure they'll get sweeter and more delicious as the true warm weather arrives, so I'll eat peas now and go back for tomatoes in a while.

Click here for my 2008 post about the Saturday farmers market on Rte 97, which had the South Mountain Creamery last year. Does anyone know if South Mountain is back on Saturdays in 2009? [Update: HowICook says in the comments that South Mountain was at the Saturday market on May 16, 2009. He notes that it was slim pickings, but I think vendors thicken once the warm weather lets them grow more.]

1 comment:

I was at the Farmer's market in the Glenwood library parking lot last Saturday, May 16. South Mountain Creamery was there. I bought cream, bacon and sausage. They don't appear to produce the bacon and sausage but their name's on the package. The sausage is real simple with just pork, salt pepper & sugar but it cooked up good.

There was also a couple of places selling plants. The only produce was a couple types of leaf lettuce. The Breadery was leaving as I got there to go to Wine in the Woods at Meriweather. Even though I did bring home some things, the pickings were mighty slim.